Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan established a customs union in early December to simplify trade among them. A single set of customs tariffs goes into effect January 1, 2010.
The three countries have set 2010 meat import quotas within the framework of the union. Russia's pork import quota in 2010 will be 500,000 tonnes; Belarus' will be 30,000 tonnes, and Kazakhstan's will be 7,400 tonnes.